Deke Bellavia

Deke: Vaccaro ready to don the Black and Gold

by Deke Bellavia,posted Apr 26 2013 10:43AM

New Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro joined me, Bobby, Mike and Hokie during Draft Fest shortly after the Saints selected him as their first pick. You could tell by the tone in his voice that the level of excitement in Vaccaro is extremely high.

“I felt good after my work out here in New Orleans and I felt like I would be here,” Vaccaro told us.

During his career with Texas, Vaccaro recorded 92 tackles, two interceptions and forced two fumbles during his senior season with Texas.

Kenny Vaccaro said he’s excited about his new team and he’s ready to get to work.

“New Orleans was the last place I visited before the draft and I thought the visit went well and now I’m just very glad to be a member of the Saints team.”

Two weeks before the draft Vaccaro tweeted out that he was at the Saints Practice facility and he said he thought he would be back in two weeks. He was right!

Click the play button to listen to our full interview with Vaccaro:

Saints Color Analyst Hokie Gajan gave his take on the Saints pick. “I liked the outside linebackers that were available when the Saints picked. Obviously the coaches think that Vaccaro can come in and contribute right away.”

The Saints’ pick of Vaccaro marks the sixth straight year in which New Orleans picked a defensive player with their first available pick in the NFL Draft. “I feel like my experience at Safety is one of my strengths. Playing in a conference with a lot of good quarterbacks has given me a chance to face some great competition.”

Saints Coach Sean Payton talked about some of the strong points in his new safety: “He has good football intelligence and a high football I.Q.” The Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert was not too excited about the Saints first draft selection. “Man we should have taken a pass rusher. I think Vaccaro is a good player but Saints would have liked the team to take a pass rusher with that pick.”

If the Saints stand pat with their current picks, the Black and Gold will next pick in the third round of the draft, the 75th overall pick.